Feeders
by Brochelle
Summary: In which Isaac realizes the past is not as dead as he thought. Theory on the origin of Feeders.


_"Did I ever tell you about that old Earth story, about the Donner party?" Nicole called._

_Isaac couldn't help the cringe. It was growing darker, and the snow had ceased to fall; both elements creating an environment that somehow managed to stifle and amplify her voice. The forest around them clung to every sound and now that Isaac was aware of it, he could hear the faint wind that heralded nightfall; somewhere distant, cars rushed along the highway. He slammed the car door shut and climbed over the snow that caked the roadside._

_The snow was packed hard, covered in a thin layer of ice from the early morning frost. The fir trees were heavy with snow and tall enough to hide the sun - making it simultaneously cold, dark, and eerily silent. He ignored the fear - the primal, ancient fear that lingered in all living creatures - and followed his girlfriend further into the snow-clad forest._

_"Nope," Isaac said. "Doesn't ring a bell."_

_Nicole turned to face him. Her blonde hair was tucked underneath a gray knit cap, stray strands poking out around her temples. She wore a heavy fur-trimmed parka - a gift from Isaac, last fall - and jeans tucked into snow boots. Cheeks flushing red, she smiled and waited for him._

_"It's this really old story," Nicole continued. As soon as Isaac was near she made a grab for his hand. Their bare fingers entwined, numb to each other's touch. The pair continued down the deer trail, deeper into the woods, and suddenly the highway went silent, and the forest listened._

_"Apparently, before there were cars and planes and shuttles, people traveled by horse. Can you imagine that? Horse!"_

_Isaac had had experience in riding horses, when he was younger and worked on a farm for the summer. He wasn't a fan of them - they didn't like him much. He humored her with a disbelieving scoff and Nicole continued, waving her free hand to accentuate her tale._

_"Well, they were trying to get to California. You know, the North-Western District? They ended up reaching this mountain range in the middle of winter, so it was snowing, worse than this. They had to stop and wait for it to pass."_

_Isaac smirked at her, cocking an eyebrow in amused disbelief. "They were going to wait it out? Wait out an entire season?"_

_"I guess!"_

_"Jesus, that's some shit."_

_"No, no! It's true. I haven't even told you the worst part yet."_

_Isaac laughed, and squeezed her hand. "Alright."_

_"They had to eat the dead!"_

_Isaac nearly choked. Staring at Nicole in horror, he exclaimed, "No way! What about the horses?"_

_"They ate the horses!" Nicole returned. She was smiling - an oddly innocent reaction to a horrible act long buried in the past and seemingly impossible to occur now. She clearly relished Isaac's reaction to her story, as any successful horror storyteller would. "Some of these people actually survived the winter - and even managed to get past these mountains. But when they actually got to California, everyone was disgusted with them!"_

_The sun was tucking itself behind the distant mountains, throwing the shadows of the trees longer and farther. Snow crunched under their boots and the forest ate up the noise. A brisk wind picked up, biting through Isaac's thick jacket and searing his bones. He felt uneasy all of a sudden._

_Nicole seemed to sense his discomfort. She leaned into him and hugged his arm, giving him a comforting smile. Isaac smiled down at her and they continued walking further into the forest. They escaped the trees' shadows and emerged into a patch of sunlight, at which point they turned around and headed back to Isaac's car._

_"So, about the _Ishimura_. You're really gonna join up?"_

_Nicole's grip on his arm tightened. "Yes! I can't wait. I've heard such good things about it."_

_"I have too," Isaac said. "You'll be a great addition to their team."_

_He knew she was smiling._

—

The snow stung his skin and chilled his bones.

He was walking toward the sun, sliding toward the horizon, and against the wind. Isaac was aching from the crash and his thoughts felt sluggish, muddled by shock. Words tumbled from his mouth - some nonsense, some not.

Some primal instinct told him he needed to get out of the wind. He needed to find somewhere shielded, before the sun went down. He needed to find Ellie.

"Ellie," he mumbled. The cold seemed to suck the air from his lungs, but he continued, speaking with each step. "Ellie!"

There was no answer. Isaac continued and thought about Nicole - so he yelled, louder.

"_ELLIE_!"

The wind shrieked in response and Isaac threw his arm up to shield his face. Behind his helmet he bit his lip and ignored the ache in his limbs. He continued his trudge through the snow.

Out of the endless white, a large, dark shape formed. A cave. Heart pounding, Isaac rushed toward it, lowering his shielding arm in favor of running faster.

He crossed the threshold and nearly collapsed.

Ellie's here, he thought. He picked himself up off the ground. The wind had ceased and the snow flurries were gone. The cave was eerily silent, and he could see a light at the end of it. He started walking.

"Ellie?" he whispered. His voice carried, somehow stifled and amplified at the same time. There was no response, so he called out again. "Ellie Langford?"

Silence greeted him.

Snow crunched - crunched under feet, moving slow, but someone human was in here. Isaac waited to hear his name, waited for Ellie's - or hell, even Carver's - voice to split the silence, but there was nothing. Only the shuffle of feet through snow, the steps broken and staggered.

Instinctively Isaac stopped his advance through the cave. He slowly backed up, heading for the cave's opening and for the snow storm. He entered the threshold and stood still, eyes straining to see through the darkness.

Something gaunt struggled out of the shadows.

It was bare, its skin mottled with rot and tight from the cold. There were no eyes in its face and its jaw was skinless, exposing stained teeth the color of its skin. It was barely managing to move on its skeletal legs. It looked like a long dead corpse, reanimated - more skeleton than man. Isaac could see a dark shape behind it, on the ground, dressed in snow gear. He felt his heart catch, until he realized it was no one he knew.

The body was sitting in a pool of blood that had stained the snow. Its jacket was ripped to shreds, exposing an open wound.

The body was being eaten. _Something had been eating it._

Isaac froze in place.

The monstrosity zeroed in on him and screamed. The sound was painful, wrenching itself through the ruined lungs and echoing through the cave.

Others answered.

Isaac turned and ran.


End file.
